


Crow Meets Fox

by missax



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Pining, Pro Volleyball Player Hinata Shouyou, Pro Volleyball Player Miya Atsumu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:34:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24610858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missax/pseuds/missax
Summary: 1.  Future - When Hinata has so many setters in his arsenal, for what does he need Atsumu?2.  Soulmates - What would you do if you weren't good enough for your soulmate?3.  Mutual Pining - How long would you wait for someone?4.  Royalty5.  Rivals6.  Idol7.  Free
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu
Comments: 6
Kudos: 150





	1. Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Hinata has so many setters in his arsenal, for what does he need Atsumu?
> 
> Atsumu thinks back on Hinata's past (and present) setters.

The view from the sidelines wasn’t something he was used to, even after playing volleyball for all these years. The last time he’d been on the sidelines was before his entry as the starting setter for the MSBY Black Jackals. Those five months where he flitted from the bench to the court gave him a different perspective to the game. But that was years ago and now he was on the sidelines again. Albeit, this was for the 2020 Olympic games so it was hard to be too upset when he was a mere monster among other monsters.

Atsumu stared intently at the game. Even from the sidelines, there was much to learn about the opponents. After eight grueling days, they’d finally made it to the finals. The dark horse Japanese National Team against the favorite Argentinian National Team. Even if Japan was the host country, many had not expected them to get this far. Atsumu might be confident on his ability, but he knew that at an international level, Japan wasn’t taken seriously compared to their South American counterparts. The last year that the Japanese National Team had taken a medal at the Olympics was in 1972. So their overwhelming performance and talent this year had taken their opponents by surprise as they clawed their way to the top.

‘ _But that’s more b’cause they aren’t aware of t’a Monster Generation,’_ thought Atsumu with vindictive glee. Of the 24 men, four were from his cohort generation on the main starting lineup. Their reserves had another three. A resounding _smack_ brought his attention back to the game. A fond smile tugged at his lips watching Shouyou score the set winning point to tie up the game. Atsumu’s sight shifted to the current setter and his eye twitched.

‘ _Even if it is Tobio-kun out there instead ‘o me_.’

“Would you look at THAT!” exclaimed the announcer, “Opposite hitter Hinata scores off of setter Kageyama’s insanely quick set. Folks in Japan here familiar with the Japanese high school circuit know that those two were well known for the freak quick that always took their opponents by surprise! A surprise attack that still remains deadly if the Argentinian response is any indication!”

Atsumu glowered. He would forever be reminded that it was always _Kageyama_ that was one of the originators of the freak quick. Even now that he had perfected it Shouyou while they played in Black Jackals matches.

“Don’t look so down, Miya-san,” said a voice to his left, “We did win the set after all!”

He looked down at their libero and sighs, giving a nonresponsive hum. Komori Motoya grins knowingly.

“I’m sure Hinata-kun likes your sets just as much!” Komori exclaimed with a wink. They both looked over as the team started walking over to the bench for a quick break before their fifth set, he saw the Argentinian team setter talking to Shouyou. The annoyance was causing his other eye to twitch this time, all thanks to Oikawa Tooru.

‘ _What was ‘t with all these setters ‘n their obsession with Shouyou-kun?!’_

He refused to acknowledge the small voice in his head saying he was in the same boat.

Watching Shouyou play was mesmerizing. In high school, their two matches had been exhilaratingly close. It was heart pounding in the way he could see Shouyou’s gaze close-up, fierce and waiting to peck his team’s eyes out, like the crow that he was. The first year he was successful. The second year Inarizaki had closed out the win but it was less about beating Shouyou as trying to staunch the blood from his attacks and target Karasuno’s other weak points. That was the last time they would face officially across the net because Shouyou disappeared from the face of the Japan for two years later. ‘ _Four_ ,’ said that annoying voice in his head, ‘ _if you consider the time from their last game in high school_.’

Six years after his declaration to set for Shouyou, his promise had been fulfilled. And the view of Shouyou flying was no less amazing on the same side of the court. If anything, it was greater. The heart racing thrill that came with setting to him and never knowing what was coming kept him on his toes. They say setters were the control tower for the team, but evidently those people had never met Hinata Shouyou. The sheer electric charge he emitted was immense. Even when Atsumu knew it made more sense to set to their other attackers who were already clear of blockers, Shouyou’s presence made him want to keep setting to him… to see what counterattack he came up with… to see how he’d bypass the blockers. He’d set to dozens of great spikers in his career so far, but nothing felt like setting to the orange haired monster. And yet that magnetic pull was also annoying because he knew he wasn’t the only one influenced by it.

Kageyama had been the first one to set for Shouyou. He refused to acknowledge that prickly voice saying how Tobio-kun has had three years with the monster compared to his two because they would be tied in four months, but who was counting? But before Atsumu, Oikawa was the one who set for that short stack powerhouse. Judging by their social media accounts, it hadn’t been a one-time thing either while Shouyou was in Brazil. Those two were just the ones he knew about too, because he’s sure there’s been more that he doesn’t know about. After all, what setter wouldn’t want to show off their Hinata Shouyou weapon? He was a ballistic missile amongst swords and arrows – who wouldn’t want to show off flashy attacks with this orange haired monster?

His glance turned to the black haired setter on his right. He knew that Kageyama Tobio would always be his biggest competition.

* * *

_“C’mon ‘Samu, I just need ‘tis one favor! For yer favorite twin!”_

_Osamu gave him a baleful glare._

_“It’s been o’er a year since we played ‘em. Two since we lost to ‘em! How are ya still obsessed with Karasuno?!”_

_Atsumu pouted. “I just want t’a see Tobio-kun and Shouyou-kun’s attack. They’re competition ya know!” he exclaimed. His twin sighed so he knew he was winning. Time to sweeten the deal. “And I promise ter treat ya to some lunch when ya get back!”_

_“Three dinners and ya got yourself a deal,” he said with a long glare and sigh._

_“Deal!”_

_A week later he had obsessively watched the Spring Nationals Tournament tapes filmed by Osamu. He’d been watching it live wherever practice allowed, and taped ones of the ones he couldn’t make in person. But there was something about getting a close-up of the game compared to the sky view of the cameras. To satisfy his appetite, Atsumu had been watching the games continuously to see how the Hinata-Kageyama attacks had evolved. The night Osamu had handed over the tapes had been both exhilarating and teeth-grinding frustrating because few things came close to the annoyance he felt watching the end of the Karasuno v. Itachiyama game._

_It was the game where Karasuno had lost. He had already seen it three times on the official tape recordings, but the game tapes always cut out parts not directly related to the plays. But Osamu had captured something that had him twitching in frustration._

_After the loss, Shouyou had confronted Kageyama on the sidelines away from their teammates._

_“Why were you afraid during that last set?!” The orange haired teen exclaimed. The tears and frustration was evident in his look. For once, Kageyama didn’t answer in equal anger._

_“I… I was scared. I didn’t want for this to be our last game together. But I felt the noose Itachiyama was tightening around our necks.” Shouyou lost his anger at the quiet answer._

_“Kageyama, do you remember what I promised during our first year? As long as I am here, you will be invincible!! Never doubt that!” Shouyou’s look was intense. Atsumu believed him. This gravity defying monster will lead whoever he wanted to victory. The tape cut out then but the green-eyed monster had settled in his stomach. He was jealous of their relationship but he was especially jealous of the understanding look the two exchanged as they rested their foreheads together._

_Hinata Shouyou and Karasuno would go on to fulfill that promise by defeating Kamomedai in the Third Place Medal deciding match._

* * *

“Alright, we’ll make some changes for our fifth set,” said Coach Hibarida, “Kageyama, we’ll swap you out for Miya. Komori you’ll go in for libero this set, and Yamagata you will swap with Ushijima for outside hitter. This will be our starting rotation for the fifth set.”

Atsumu’s hands twitched eagerly to set. The coach had been switching between him and Kageyama as their starting setters each set to give the other a chance to rest. He had lucked out getting the odd sets, giving him a chance to secure gold with his team… with Shouyou.

The set was a bloody slugfest with neither team yielding. Each time Oikawa and him matched at the front he could feel the other’s smirk as he looked at Atsumu before sliding a look back at their greatest decoy. Nothing would make him happier than wiping that smirk off of his face. And almost an hour later, they finally got their match point at 31-30 in favor of Japan.

Argentina received the serve, but it broke their formation. Oikawa sprinted to the ball and was able to set it to the Argentinian 6’8” cannon. Luckily, Japan’s middle blocker was able to get a hand on it but the ball’s spin swerved it off to the left – almost a block out.

‘ _Oh no ya don’t, ya damn scrubs_!’ he thought, hustling to the side and was able to save the ball in a flying receive. Luckily there weren’t any chairs or desks in the immediate area or that could have hurt.

“SHOUYOU-KUN!” he yelled to the one person he believed more than anything to score off of this ball.

“Thank you, Atsumu-san!”

Atsumu turned around from his slide and started sprinting back to the court. The ball was high. Good. It would give Shouyou plenty of space to give a good set. He watched as Shouyou gave a running start before getting in setting formation below the ball. All offensive hitters were making their approach to the net. But then Shouyou twisted his body as the ball was above him, spiking it with a resounding _smack_ into the opposing court. The “in” flag exploded in loud cheers from the audience.

“WOW! I don’t think any of us were expecting that! Ladies and gentlemen, emergency setter Hinata Shouyou just went from a setting pose to doing a LEFT-HANDED spike to win the final point, despite being right-handed!! And it looks like he took the Argentinian team by surprise because two of their blockers were already moving towards the other side of the court! What amazing balance! With that point, JAPAN takes the final set and will be taking home GOLD for the Men’s Indoor Volleyball 2020 team! What an upset – I don’t think any of us saw this coming!”

The teams lined up to shake hands and as he passed Oikawa he couldn’t help a smirk and reply.

“Ya might’ve set ter him in the past, but _I’ll_ be set’ing ta him in the future.”

The answering tight grip and glare from Oikawa was more than satisfying to the green-eyed monster inside him. The rest of the ceremony was almost a blur. He remembered watching Japan’s flag raise with their national anthem blaring but the only thing he focused on was Shouyou’s beaming smile and happy tears.

After the game, they got changed and had the rest of the afternoon off to explore the other Olympic games or go rest up at the hotel before the team dinner. Atsumu showered and could hear bickering in the background as Shouyou and Kageyama complained to the other about the other’s missed hits or screwed serves. Their banter irked him because it showed after all these years they still had a close relationship. Could he be this close to Shouyou when it was already occupied by Kageyama?

He turned off the water and went to towel off before changing clothes to go back to the hotel room.

“Ne, Atsumu-san,” said a voice behind him, “Are you planning to go back? Do you want to go back together?”

Atsumu turned to Shouyou and gave him his best smile.

“Of course, Shouyou-kun!” Judging by the look on Shouyou’s face, his best must not have been very convincing. But the spiker didn’t pursue it and chattered away about the game as he put his dirty clothes away and packed up. Shouyou waved a goodbye to Kageyama and they bid the team goodbye before walking off.

As they walked further away Atsumu can feel his heart and thoughts returning more to normal rather than letting the jealousy monster rage internally. Osamu had always said that was the worst thing about him, and maybe he wasn’t off. The two quickly reached their shared hotel room and opened the door. Each of the team members had paired off and since Shouyou and him had roomed together for MSBY games, it only made sense for them to get a room together.

No sooner had he dumped his bag to the side of his bed did Shouyou ask, “So are you going to tell me what’s wrong Atsumu-san? We did win you know. But your face makes it seem like we lost.”

Atsumu sat down on his bed. He crossed his fingers and stared at them, because looking at his hands was better than looking at the man leaning on the doorway with his intense eyes.

“Shouyou-kun… I… I wasn’t able ter support ya t’day,” he started, “That last point, I told myself I was gon’na return it with ‘n overhanded pass. After all, I can best support my spikers with ten fingers than two arms. But at th’a last minute I was scared I’d mess up ‘n returned it with an underhanded pass. What setter am I if I couldn’t support m’a spikers as best as I can?”

Shouyou sighed and walked over to Atsumu. He knelt down and grabbed his hands.

“Atsumu-san, look at me.” The setter turned to look at the orange haired man’s intense eyes. “You weren’t supporting us as a setter for that last hit you idiot. You were saving a ball to give us a winning chance! If you hadn’t we might not have won that last point! Don’t ever doubt your skills and contributions, Atsumu-san.”

Atsumu blushed at the words and look Shouyou was giving him. His amber eyes really were too striking. Atsumu can feel his heartbeat speeding up with the warm hands touching his and at Shouyou’s kind words. But even then, he couldn’t help unloading the true feelings of inadequacy.

“But Tobio-kun will always be the best setter for ya,” he replied, “Ya both got this chemistry that I am jealous of… More than anything, I want to be the one who can support ya th’a best!” Atsumu looked away, feeling the heat rise on his neck. He couldn’t look at Shouyou as he said what had been bothering him all day, and if he was honest with himself it’s been bothering him all week since the Olympic games started… since he had to start sharing Shouyou with Tobio again.

The silence after his words was almost deafening.

“Kageyama and I had a close partnership because of how long we’ve worked together. I was… pretty bad in high school and relied on my teammates a ton. I relied on Kageyama the most and his pinpoint sets were amazing! Then when I went to Brazil, I realized that not everyone was as good as Kageyama. But because we were rivals, I gave up on the idea of finding someone who’d be as good at setting the ball for me to bring out my 100%. I figured that meant I just had to bring out my 120% to make up for that!

“But then I got on the Black Jackals and realized that there were other good setters outside of Kageyama. Your sets are amazing Atsumu-san! They’re so easy to hit and score! They make my 100% seem like 120% so when I do bring my 120% it’s like 200%!!” he exclaimed.

Atsumu turned to look at Shouyou’s earnest face.

“But do they make ya feel… invincible?”

He looked at Shouyou’s face, watching his eyes darken in thought.

“No,” he started. Atsumu’s heart plummeted.

“No, your sets make me feel… free. They make me like I can do anything and hit any shot I want with them. The way it comes so _fast_ but almost hovers there so I can choose whatever type of spike I want, at whichever angle, and just fly… it makes me happy knowing you trust me that much to give me the ball, and know that I’ll score with it!”

‘ _I’m touched Shouyou-kun. You, who promises to take any ball no matter how bad or good it is and score with it… and you understood my intent behind my tosses. To give you the ball that can respond to any one of your arsenal of attacks and let you fly with your wings fully spread wide… that’s always been how I thought I could best serve you_.’

Shouyou smiled and continued, “I couldn’t ask for a better setter for me than you, Atsumu-san.”

If his face was blushing before, it definitely felt like a volcano now looking into Shouyou’s earnest eyes. Can he finally tell his spiker his real feelings? That bubbling feeling in his stomach every time Shouyou looked at him with that sunny smile?

“Shouyou-kun, do ya know why I want ter be th’a best setter for ya?”

The orange haired spiker shook his head, puzzled.

“It’s b’cause I like ya. I really, _really_ like ya a lot. An embarrassing amount, really.”

“Do you mean it Atsumu-san?!” Shouyou yelled excitedly. “I really like you too! I’ve had a crush on you for the last couple of months but was scared you didn’t feel the same way! You’re so cool and have a ton of fans so I thought there’s no way you’d like me when you’re like an idol!”

Atsumu blinked. They really were both idiots. But he can feel the face-breaking smile widening on his face. Leaning forwards, he put their foreheads together. He can feel Shouyou’s breathing as he breathed in and out. It was intoxicating.

“Ya idiot, I’ve liked ya for so long now. I don’t care about the fans. I just want ya fer forever.”

Shouyou had the lightest blush on his face before whispering, “Atsumu-san, can I kiss you?”

“Of course, ya don’t even need ter ask,” he replied, “Ya never need ter ask.”


	2. Dream High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What would you do if you weren't good enough for your soulmate?
> 
> In a world where soulmates dream through the eyes of the other, it takes willpower to find your other half. Only a quarter of the world succeed, so the odds are hardly in your favor. But what if you find them, and find yourself not good enough for them?

They say only the lucky ever end up meeting their soulmates. Statistically only about a quarter of the world population end up meeting their soulmates in real life.

I can’t imagine that being too surprising when all you know about someone are through dreams of important events in their life. They say that when you touch your soulmate for the first time, both will remember the dreams as if you’ve lived through it rather than being distant memories. Allegedly. There were some who claimed that but not enough data to make it a definitive statement.

Remembering dreams has always been a struggle for me. Even with a dream journal that I kept by my bed to record it the moment I wake up, soulmate dreams are fuzzy at best. You get a sense of feeling from the dream but remembering details is rare. But my soulmate must have had strong feelings about some events because there were some nights that I can remember the dreams in almost crystal clarity.

The first time it happened was when I was in my first year of junior high school. That night I went to sleep to dreams of a short teen flying high above the net. His dark black hair flew everywhere and when he jumped it almost looked like there were black wings on his back. He was covered in sweat but never let up his jumps, taking to the skies time and time again to score points for his team. I could remember my soulmate’s sense of awe watching this. I was never able to figure out what school uniform it was, but only that it had the darkest of black. I didn’t remember much, but that dream made me happy that my soulmate liked volleyball just like me.

The next several years had mild dreams. it wasn’t until three years later that the next memorable dream came. It started off nice and happy with a sense of excitement. A view of the volleyball gymnasium was familiar. I was so excited my soulmate ended up playing volleyball. What would they be like? Would they be a setter like me? Maybe a spiker?

‘ _So my soulmate is a boy_!’ I realized, watching the other boys around him playing volleyball.

‘ _He’s on the boys volleyball team!_ ’

But the happy dream quickly turned into a nightmare. My soulmate’s frustration and sadness permeated the end of the dream. Each missed or blocked spike brought a sense of despair. It felt like a tall, tall wall was always in front of him.

But the pinnacle of his sadness and frustration wasn’t until the end when he confronted a tall black-haired boy on the building steps. The same boy who’d taunted him earlier in the game of not giving enough dedication for the three years leading up to this game. I was annoyed myself and wanted to yell at the boy who couldn’t see all the practice that my soulmate had put in to get to this point. Those dreams were hard to remember since they didn’t have a strong emotion behind them, but I always witnessed my soulmate’s tries at practicing even when he had no one to practice with.

But all his soulmate remembered was this black-haired boy putting him down for wasting three years. I was more than a little annoyed at the boy for saying that and not knowing what my other half had gone through.

I forgot about the boy until he showed up again just months later in another dream.

This next dream was intense. It was a roller coaster of sadness, joy, jealousy, and then a final sense of belonging. The same black-haired boy was back, and this time as a setter. It seems that my soulmate is a spiker after all. But this game had my soulmate doubting himself. There was jealousy at a tall, broad shouldered man landing powerful spikes. However, the strongest feeling was the one of belonging… and almost… self-worth that came at the end.

I wasn’t able to remember all that the setter had told my spiker in that game, but the one sentence that stuck out was his confident claim that: “As long as I am here, you will be invincible!”

That made me jealous. Who was this setter that wasn’t as good as me making such a claim when this spiker belonged to me? I’m the best high school setter! _I_ would be the one making my soulmate invincible.

I remembered that dream made me pursue volleyball practice with an almost maniacal rigor. Even ‘Samu thought I was insane with how long I kept going on with practice. Everyone would leave for the day after a 6-hour practice and I’d still be raring to go with serving practice.

“’Tsumu, why ya practicing so hard? Ya know we’re the strongest in the prefecture. It’s not like we’re gonna miss Nationals.”

I paused. I’d never told my own brother the dreams from my soulmate. Growing up, we’d always share everything. Just this once, I wanted to keep my soulmate only mine. Mine to know about, mine to dream about, mine to get to know better.

“I just wanna be the best,” I lied easily, “Not all of us can afford to be a lazy scrub like ya.”

We fought after that but ‘Samu dropped the matter. As long as I got better that was all that mattered. If my soulmate was a spiker, I had to get better to support him as best I can. He might have this black haired setter for now, but when we meet I’ll be the only setter he’ll need.

The next time I dreamed was when Inzarizaki had just secured a win to the Inter-High tournament. It was a good thing we had already won because the sheer despair that my soulmate felt in this dream made me wake up crying. The sense of loss and despair at the final blocked spike against a team of teal and white uniforms, and the feeling of inadequacy made me wake up. The strong feelings were too much for me and I woke up before seeing the end to the dream. It was the first soulmate dream that I’d woken up from before finishing.

‘ _So did that mean that he’s in Japan? A high schooler like me, but his team missed the tournament qualifiers?_ ’

That was the last time I had such an intense dream from my soulmate. Within the next few months, I caught snippets of him training and improving. At times the teams he trained against almost seemed familiar, but just when I feel like I can recognize them, the thoughts slip outside of my grasp. It was more than a little frustrating. The most memorable face was the loud one with silver and black hair and sharp yellow eyes. I almost feel like I should know him… maybe seen him somewhere?

It wasn’t until the Japan Youth National Training Camp that I had an inkling that my soulmate might be closer than I thought. Inarizaki had just qualified again for the Spring Inter-High Tournament. But before that happened, I was invited to the training camp with other strong youths in Japan. I’d been there the year before so it was nothing too surprising. Only a handful of them were any threat and if I was honest with myself, Sakusa Kyoomi had to be the most intimidating. I wasn’t expecting much to come from that training camp.

But that was before I saw Kageyama Tobio. The moment my eyes landed on him, the fuzzy dreams sharpened from a fog to a distant memory. Now I had a name to put to the face. This was the setter pairing up with my soulmate. It meant that he was at Karasuno High School and soon I’ll be meeting him at the Spring Tournament. I could feel my heart pounding faster in anticipation. I had to find out more.

“Ne, Tobio-kun,” I said during a cool-down stretch, “Tell me a little about yer team. Ya beat Shiratorizawa, right?”

The black-haired setter looked at me, showing nothing in his expression before giving a bland answer.

“We’re good. We have good attackers and defenders. I think we’ll go far.”

Nothing I asked got a very straight answer out of Tobio-kun. Frustrating, but I can understand his hesitancy to disclose anything to competition.

When I got back to Hyogo, not even ‘Samu eating all of the yogurt in the house could take away my shit-eating grin all week.

During Day 1 of the Spring Inter-High, I sought out Karasuno’s schedule the moment we got there and made my way to their court. The bus was a little late so we got there a little after their match had started. Somewhere on that team, my soulmate was playing. My face was getting painful from the large grin splitting my face and more than one of my teammates were a little creeped out but I didn’t care.

Karasuno had a small bench so it wasn’t hard to identify the starters. One by one I checked off the faces I recognize from the dreams until there was only one I didn’t recognize. Since I saw dreams through my soulmate’s eyes, the only one I wouldn’t be able to see is his face. But then I saw it. The only one I never saw in a dream. It was that small orange haired boy.

The speed demon hitting Tobio-kun’s pinpoint sets. Wow. Watching his movements was mesmerizing! I could appreciate his athleticism. But he had pretty average technique. As much as I hated to admit it, Tobio-kun’s skill as a setter was the cornerstone of that freak quick.

‘ _He’ll be good with more practice, but he won’t be able to go far. He can jump but it doesn’t look like it’ll be enough to go pro. He’s not going to give us a challenge tomorrow_.’

I was disappointed. Watching things in the dream-verse was different than in real life. Huffing in annoyance I walked off from their game after it ended and Karasuno will be facing off against Inarizaki tomorrow. I had waited my whole life for this moment and it was almost anti-climactic now in person. I really wasn’t expecting much from the game.

Well, you know what they say about judging a book by its cover.

Halfway through the first set I realized more than anything that my soulmate had exceeded my expectations. Hinata Shouyou. That was his name.

His quick attack was even cooler from across the net. The tenacity to grind down our team while he flew to the skies was intense. There were moments where his amber eyed glare mid spike gave me shivers. So this is what it was like to play against Shouyou-kun.

This game made me hungry. Hungry to prove myself, to get better, to show off all that I can do. I wanted to show to him that I was a better setter than Tobio-kun and that he should want to play with _me_ and no other setters.

But despite all that we gave, Karasuno scrapped out the win. It seems that those two were able to predict even our surprise back quick attack. How lame. After all my talking, we had ended up losing. When our teams shook hands, I wasn’t directly in front of him so we never ended up shaking hands. It was probably better this way. He might not know that we’re soulmates but I wanted for him to recognize and acknowledge me. So I told him the one thing I was going to make true.

“Shouyou-kun, one day I will set for ya.”

He looked at me confused, not saying anything but I had already started walking away. We might be soulmates but there was no way I was going to tell him that until I can prove that we’re equals.

“Loser’s last chance ta look cool, huh,” said ‘Samu’s usual snarky reply.

“Shut it ya turd. We’re gonna practice like nothing before ‘cuz next year we’re gonna stomp Karasuno to the ground!”

It wasn’t until the next Spring Inter-High that we ended up beating Karasuno. It was another close game where Inarizaki had just barely gotten the win in the third set. Not the beat-down I was hoping for, but it did tie up the win-lose count. I’d proven to him that I can match Tobio-kun’s sets just as well. He wouldn’t need Tobio-kun when he had me.

After shaking hands with their captain, I walked over to the orange haired spiker. His face was blank. It was making me nervous. I’d rehearsed this before, but executing it in person definitely made it feel like a whole new experience.

“Shouyou-kun.”

He turned to me.

“This makes us even. I will keep my promise last year. One day, I will be yer setter.”

I held out my hand for a handshake. Would he take it?

Shouyou looked at my hand before moving up to my eyes. The fire in his amber eyes shone brightly. How electrifying. But then he smiled brightly, it looked like the fire that was going to burn me alive lightened to a warm, sunny day.

“Miya-san,” he said lightly, “How lucky am I that my soulmate is also a setter. If this isn’t planned by fate, I don’t know what is.”

The spiker reached forward to shake my hand. In that moment when our hands touched, I felt a spark and suddenly the foggy haze that always circled my dreams rose. The dreams that I had always struggled to recall were now almost something within my own memory… as if I was living it.

“Wow,” I exhaled. I turned to him. “So ya know.”

Shouyou smiled.

“Yes, I figured it out after our first game. The dream that night was probably the strongest I’ve ever gotten. It wasn’t hard to figure it out afterwards.”

His eyes then sharpened. “Wait for me Miya-san. I’m not good enough to be your spiker yet, but one day I will be. And when that happens I’ll make you want to only set for me!”

I didn’t ask what he meant because I could see that overwhelming hunger in his eyes. The hunger to be the best, to only accept the best. It was something I’ve seen in my own eyes time and time again so I don’t doubt that he’ll make it happen.

“Call me Atsumu, Shouyou-kun. I’ll wait for ya for as long as ya want. Because when ya finally come ta me, yer gonna want no other setter.”

A small part of me kind of regretted that promise. I didn’t realize it would take six years for him to make his way back to me. But when he did, we are untouchable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soulmate challenge for #AtsuHinaWeek2020!! Let me know what you guys think! This ending turned out a little different from my original plan but I quite like how it worked out. Follow me @hungryappetite on Twitter for any questions or ideas for new stories! ;)


	3. Six Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How long would you wait for someone?
> 
> Because six years is a long time to wait, but sometimes the wait makes it all the more sweet.

April was really still too cold to be holding tryouts. Sakusa understood why it made sense to hold open tryouts in April, but he was still grumbling at seeing his breath while exhaling. With high school graduations happening in March and the V.League season wrapping up in April, holding open tryouts shortly after made sense to kick off their offseason by grabbing available talented players. High school hopefuls would flock every year to try and join a V.League Division 1 team if they weren’t good or lucky enough to be scouted in high school. The Black Jackals were the first team to hold tryouts in April, with the next team being the Falcons holding theirs two weeks later.

Sakusa sighed. He never expected much heading into tryouts but Coach Foster mandated it from the starters, and since he had just earned his spot it was now required for him to attend. He arrived just shortly before the 8am start time and walked up to the balcony with the other members to look over the recruits.

Day 1 was mostly a chance for tryouts to rotate through each of the volleyball aspects. Trainers and assistant coaches would observe and make notes but more than half will be eliminated after Day 1. Day 2 gave the recruit hopefuls a chance to play matchup games amongst themselves with MSBY trainers, coaches, and team members scrutinizing their skills. Finally, on Day 3 it would be games with the MSBY members to gauge skills and see how the recruit potentials interact with the team. Since their contracts only ran for two or three years, most years there are only three or four spots open on the team, but usually those spots were secured by high schoolers or college graduates recruited from the tournament scene. This year the Jackals didn’t have anyone get traded or leave for either retirement or another team, so there was only one spot open.

“Good morning Sakusa-san,” greeted Meian when he stepped into the main area. As captain, he had a more vested interest to evaluate the potential recruits.

“Meian-san,” Sakusa returned, “Anyone catch your eye so far?”

“Not yet, but it’s still early. They’re just going through a few light laps and stretching first. I think it’ll get starting in 15-20 minutes.”

Sakusa nodded before sulking over to an isolated corner away from the crowd. There were only the main starters here and the primary backup, but he’d prefer to leave some space between him and the dozen or so men on the balcony. He looked over and saw that Miya and Bokuto were yawning, half asleep talking to the other. Like him, they weren’t expecting too much to come out of open tryouts.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! C’mon over Omi-Omi! Let’s watch together, oya?!”

“Chill man,” grumbled Miya, “Ya got any other setting ‘cept 0 and 120?!”

Sakusa tended to agree with Miya on this one even if he was mostly annoying and an idiot. He sighed and moved a few steps closer to the pair. It made sense to play nice with his team, and they did get seats that had a better view of the 50 or so men downstairs.

“Alright,” said one of the trainers downstairs, “Thanks everyone for joining for tryouts today! If you don’t have one yet, make sure you get a jersey number and submit your name when you get it. You’ll keep this number for the next three days if you move to the next rounds. Offensive hitters, please go over to the left corner there. Middle blockers, come to the right corner here. Liberos, to the back corner. We’ll split you up by position and run through drills to gauge your skill level.”

The three watched as the men separated themselves into the respective groups. He looked to see if he recognized any familiar faces before a flash of orange caught his eye.

“HEY, HEY, HEY!! Is that my Number One Disciple?! Shrimpy, is that you??!” yelled Bokuto. He had jumped to the railing guards and was dangerously close to falling over. He actually might have if it wasn’t for Barnes grabbing the back of his shirt and pulling him back down.

“You might want to take it easy there Bokuto or else Coach or Meian will have your head,” said the almost 7 feet spiker.

Bokuto laughed but didn’t take his eyes off the figure below who was now returning a wave up at the team, grinning from ear to ear. The exchange hadn’t gone unnoticed by the other recruit hopefuls, who were now looking at the shorter orange haired man warily. Anyone who was acknowledged by a starting member had to be dangerous.

‘ _If only they knew_ …’ thought Sakusa. He had witnessed it at Nationals during his last two years and can only imagine what else the man’s done since Sakusa had last seen him. The Greatest Decoy they’d called him back in the day. His team had beaten Ushijima out during the last tournament of his third year. Sakusa had thought it was a fluke or that their victory was due to Ushijima being in subpar form. He’d even called out their setter Kageyama during the Japan National Training Camp but when he saw the official tapes later, he saw why Karasuno was able to defeat Shiratorizawa. And a large factor was the dangerous decoy below. How interesting that he was trying out for the Black Jackals.

From the corner of his eye, Sakusa saw Miya walk forward as if in a trance to get a closer view.

“It really is Shouyou-kun,” he whispered dreamily.

Eww. Sakusa didn’t need to look over to feel the sunshine glow emitting from their setter. It seems Miya’s still got that obsession since high school for the shorter player. Sakusa had watched the Inarizaki vs. Karasuno grudge match his last year since the winner would be facing Itachiyama in the quarterfinals and even then noticed how much the setter was trying to catch the decoy’s eye.

The trio watched the tryouts with much more interest. Bokuto giving a shout of encouragement every time Hinata did something amazing while Miya kept sighing dreamily. Sakusa saw on more than one occasion Miya’s hands twitching and forming a setting formation as he watched Hinata play. What an idiot. Finally, tryouts ended for the day and the main assistant coach read out the 24 numbers asked to return for the next day while the men did some cooldown stretches. it came to no one’s surprise that the human tangerine was listed among them.

When the coaches ended the tryouts for the day and the hopefuls were able to leave, Bokuto sprinted down the stairs to talk to his friend. Miya did the same. But in all of Miya’s graceful poise, he tripped on the last step and face-planted in front on the floor. What an idiot.

There was a moment of silence before Bokuto and Hinata jogged over to Miya to see if he was alright.

“Tsum-Tsum, you alright there?! That looks a little painful!”

Once Miya looked up and saw how close he was to Hinata, his face exploded from the pink at his fall to a bright red matching his former school jacket. Huh, who knew human faces can get that red?

“Atsumu-san, are you okay?” asked the spiker with a sincere level of concern.

Say what you want about Hinata Shouyou, but he really was a nice guy. And if Sakusa was a nice guy, he would warn him of the disaster that he was trying out for before he got roped into a binding contract for this team of crazy. Pity no one was looking out for him before he signed. There were nine other teams in the league. Surely they can’t all be as crazy as his current one?

“Y-yes! This happens all the time to me! I mean no, it doesn’t but it’s fine. Everything’s fine!” stammered out their setter.

God, he can’t believe that mess down there was really their starting setter. Wasn’t he supposed to be an idol or something with how the news outlets praise him and the fangirls following him around?

Hinata beamed.

“I’m glad! If you got hurt we can’t play in two days. Well, assuming I make it that far,” he says with a laugh.

Sakusa rolled his eyes. Anyone with eyes can see that he outshone the other tryout hopefuls by miles with just drills today. It was impressive to see how his technique had tightened up quite a bit since high school. But Sakusa knew that Hinata’s biggest asset wasn’t necessarily his technique, but his game sense. It’ll be interesting to see what happens at the scrimmage games tomorrow.

“Shouyou-kun, will ya give me yer phone number?” Miya asked. Well it came out as more of an excited yell, but the response from Hinata was equally loud.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Now that the first day’s done, let’s get some food my favorite disciple! I know a great place nearby. You have to fill me in on all that you’ve done in the last three years and how Brazil’s treating you!”

Brazil? That makes sense now considering how Hinata had disappeared from the face of the earth years ago after his high school graduation. He’d been curious to see where he went but wasn’t close enough to any of the ginger’s friends to ask. It explained the deep tan. The three walked off and Sakusa decided to leave as well. He was a little curious on who was going to be their newest team member and wanted to see what he brought tomorrow.

Day 2 started off with much more interest than the previous day. The Jackals’ starters were now intrigued at the praises reaped on one of the recruits by their own member, and having seen his talent yesterday were equally curious to see him play. From the 24 members, four teams were formed. Only three setter specializing hopefuls remained, so the Jackals loaned their backup setter to the last team.

From his place on the balcony, Sakusa watched the two games happening. Next to him, Bokuto and Miya were only watching Hinata’s game. How did he know? Well, the commentary was a dead giveaway.

“Hey! Did you see that oya?! I taught him that feint! Damn, he’s a monster. I didn’t see anything giving it away until the end!”

“Holy SHIT, did ya see that set?! He can set?! Is there anything Shouyou-kun can’t do now?!!”

“Ha ha, did ya see that distracting run-up? The blockers fell for that hook, line, sinker!”

“I know right?! He was scary in high school but man, he’ll fuck with anyone’s heads now!”

“Damn, th’at setter’s a scrub. I could be givin’ ‘im better sets,” grumbled Miya.

It was curious how attached Miya was given they’d only had two games in high school as far as he knew. Bokuto he remembered bragging about being the other man’s mentor growing up but he couldn’t figure out how Miya got so close to Hinata.

“How do you know Hinata, Miya? I thought he kicked your ass at Nationals?” he asked.

“He only won the first year! I won the next ‘n both were close!” Miya defended. “’Sides, I promised I would set to him one day.”

Bokuto laughed and threw his arm around Miya’s shoulder.

“Tsumu here was already promising to set to Hinata after their first game. If that’s not love at first sight, I don’t know what is!” he teased but Miya’s flushed face hinted that there might be more merit to those words than Bokuto thought with his teasing.

“But it’s been over six years right?” Sakusa asked.

Miya flushed and looked away.

“Yea,” he said quietly, “Six years is a long time to wait.”

Sakusa turned to look at the game and saw Hinata’s teammates cheer him for that last spike. Komori had always praised his insight and perception on the court. He wasn’t as good at deciphering human feelings but it sounded like Miya’s been waiting for the shorter spiker for a while. As far as he gathered, they’d only had two interactions but it sounded like Miya already had a crush on the younger man. What a mind boggling concept. Sakusa wondered if Hinata felt the same way or if he was even aware of Miya’s feelings.

Six sets later now that each of the teams had a chance to play against the other three, the coaches and Meian left to discuss who they would bring back for Day 3. As they announced the six names during the players’ cooldown, Sakusa agreed with their selection. But really after today he would have to agree with the two idiots that Hinata was the best by far. It was almost a waste of time going through another round of tryouts.

This time he decided to go down and talk with Hinata with the two idiots. Luckily Miya had learned how to walk properly this time and didn’t kiss the floor again. As entertaining as that would be, it’d be also embarrassing to have that spread about the Jackals and their uncoordinated setter.

Hinata was talking with the other two when he approached.

“Ah, Sakusa-san! Good to see you’re here too!”

“Indeed, Mr. I-Got-Sick-and-Benched,” he replied.

“Hey, don’t say it like it’s my nickname!! And… I’ve learned from that and am way better now.”

From his intense look, Sakusa believed him. It only takes one traumatic experience to shape a lifestyle. Hinata didn’t have Lady Luck on his side with height so he’ll always have to make sure he’s in the best condition to make the most of all the chances he receives. It was… humbling to see how others try to make the most of their chances when Sakusa had always been gifted with height and skill.

“Still, I am a bit surprised to see you here and not trying out for the Adlers. Granted their tryouts aren’t until July so maybe that’s why.”

“Not at all. I can’t beat Kageyama if we’re on the same team.” The hunger in his eyes almost sent a shiver down his spine. This wasn’t someone to take lightly. He was going to burn and burn until he achieved his goal.

“And you’ll help me with sets right, Atsumu-san?” he asked the setter.

“O’ course, Shouyou-kun. As much as ya want!”

Hinata looked at Miya surprised before responding.

“You’re the first setter to tell me that Atsumu-san,” he said with a smile, “I’m excited you’re here! Out of all the setters in Japan, I think you’ll let me fly.”

“Ya wanna fly? I’ll be the biggest gust o’ wind on yer wings, just ya wait ‘n see.”

Both men flushed looking at the other. While Miya had the lovesick puppy look, Hinata had an admiration gleam in his eyes.

‘ _What do you know? This might not be one-sided after all_.’

“Sounds cool but didn’t you just lose to Kageyama in the rankings for setting and serves?” interjected Bokuto.

“Watch it Bok-kun! I’m takin’ it back this year damnit!”

Sakusa tuned out their squabbling while Hinata tried to act as mediator. Bokuto invited Hinata out for dinner but the younger man declined.

“If I make the team tomorrow, we can go Bokuto-san. I don’t want it to make it too unfair for the other players since we just went yesterday.”

Judging by the look on their faces, both Miya and Bokuto wanted to argue that the spot was pretty much his. But they decided to not say anything and merely sighed their agreement.

“See you all tomorrow! Hopefully we’ll have some fun games!” he exclaimed before walking out the gymnasium.

On the last day of tryouts, the six remaining recruit hopefuls were split in half and mixed with the regulars to play a few games. Players were traded after each game to see if there were any synergies in certain combinations. It wasn’t until Miya and Hinata were on the same side that Sakusa saw it. From across the net, he could see how fast they were able to sync up with each move progressively getting more aggressive and risky. Miya had always been a risk taker but he toned it down for the team. However, there must be something in his connection with Hinata because his tosses were downright crazy at times. Several times he would toss the ball with no one nearby but within split seconds, Hinata was rising up to the ball to spike it. It threw even Meian off at the combinations.

But nothing was as close as when they replicated the “freak quick” as the media had deemed it during their high school circuit days. Hinata had started his ascent and was moments from his peak when Miya sent him the ball. The moment it left Miya’s hand to hitting their side of the net had been less than a second. He’d heard about this attack of course, but witnessing it firsthand was intimidating.

“ _Gwahh_ Atsumu-san!! That was AMAZING!”

The two ran at each other, exchanging high-fives while the rest of the team looked on in shock. Those who weren’t familiar with their high school games were caught off guard, whispering among themselves on what that attack was. Bokuto was off to the side beaming in pride at how his protégé had progressed his game in recent years.

Looking at Miya and Hinata’s exclaiming voices he can see how much of a threat these two would be on the same side of the net. Kageyama had turned Hinata from a dagger to a grenade in high school. But Miya’s support of his spikers coupled with his stupid crush on Hinata means he’ll likely support him to become an atomic bomb. Sakusa smirked. He couldn’t wait to see that happen.

After the tryouts had ended, the coach called the players into the other room while the tryout hopefuls left for the day. They’ll be informed in a day or two of the decision and contract conditions.

“Alright,” said Coach Foster, “Now that we’ve seen them all, what are thoughts on the six remaining?”

The team looked at each other. Sakusa surprised himself when he spoke up first.

“Honestly, if Hinata isn’t the one hired I think we’ll be making a big mistake.”

Everyone stared at him in silence and shock before Meian spoke up.

“I agree with Sakusa-san. The others had good technique but it didn’t bring it to game sense. And that quick attack with Miya still leaves me in shock. I honestly couldn’t believe what I saw.” Meian turned to Miya, “I don’t know how you did that and were able to sync with him so quickly.”

Miya gave his cocksure grin with the same hooded eyes.

“I promised Shouyou-kun that one day I would toss to ‘im. It’s been six years but I finally fulfilled that promise. He still hasn’t lost his court presence in the years since high school. If anything, it’s got’en stronger. No matter where he’s at I know he’ll be jump for any ball. I too think we can take the league this year if we have Shouyou-kun in our ranks.”

Coach Foster laughed.

“I’m glad we’re all on the same wavelength then! He was the one I want to make an offer to. He’s got a diverse array of skills and has great synergies with the team. I’ll make the offer and hopefully you all will get a new teammate starting here Monday!”

The team grinned and were dismissed for the day by the management team. All in all, not a bad tryout season.

* * *

Practice with Hinata brought a new level of hunger that he’d never seen before with the Jackals. As professional athletes, they always hungered for the win. But there was a type of insatiable hunger that Hinata brought which pushed the team to hit harder, fly higher, and try harder. He felt that himself in how he worked to perfect his spins even more and work on his receives so catch any spin.

But perhaps the biggest change from Hinata joining the team was with Miya. The last time Sakusa had seen him play so freely was when his twin still played almost five years ago. It seems he’s found a new groove with their latest wing spiker and was able to take more risks.

‘ _Then there’s that personality of his too. It’s probably from his crush but even his words have less bite than they usually do when someone messes up. How weird. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve even seen him yell at Hinata for missed serves_.’

Then there was that hopelessly in love look. Both keep sneaking glances at the other while the other wasn’t looking. Miya definitely had it worst but Hinata was slowly catching up to him. The whole team noticed but was waiting for the two idiots to realize it themselves. Meian, being the team dad that he was, had even brought it up in passing during a water break that another team had some teammates dating and how it was a good thing their contracts didn’t say anything on the contrary. Both flushed when he’d mention that but none had made the move yet.

Sakusa sighed. Them dancing around each other was starting to get on his nerves. So one day after practice ended he went up to Hinata and asked, “Hinata, are you free this weekend?”

The orange haired man was surprised but confirmed he had time.

“Good. Would you like to go on a date with me Saturday?”

“WHATTTT?!!” yelled Miya, getting awfully close to his face. “Shouyou-kun is NOT going on a date with ya!”

“Oh? And why not?” he asked with a smirk. Too easy.

“Because he’s gonna go out with ME!” raged the setter. Silence. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

“I-I-I mean only if ya want to, Shouyou-kun,” he stuttered with a red face. Hinata flushed before smiling.

“I’d love to Atsumu-san!”

The two smiled at each other before Hinata remembered and turned to Sakusa.

“Err, Sakusa-san…” he started before the black-haired man cut him off.

“I wasn’t serious,” he said with a smirk, “That was more for Miya’s benefit than anything else. I got tired of looking at the pining every day.”

The rest of the team laughed while those two idiots smiled at the other. Maybe now he’ll get some peace and quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! I'm definitely way behind on AtsuHina week >.< but sadly life is kicking my ass. Always wanted to dabble with a tryout one-shot and Sakusa is fun to write. I wish there were more stories starring him. Let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> My contributions to AtsuHina Week 2020! Can't get enough of this pairing and Haikyuu 396 fulfilled my cannon dreams better than I could have asked! Just started a Twitter for this fandom @greedyappetite


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